Pencil sharpener



Aug. 10 1926.

' m; VERE DIERKS PENCIL SHARPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 19 1925 fim MWM S ATTORNEYS Aug. 10 1926. v

pE VERE DIERKS PENCIL SHARPENER 7 Filed Maroh.l9, 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B Mi/ZM/A fiATTORNEY Patented Aug. 10, 1925.

UNlTED STATES DE VERE DIERKS, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

- PENCIL SHARPENER.

Applicationfiled March 19, 1825. Serial No. 16,720.

jects, in close proximity to the operating handle or the pencil receiver. This inconvenience is entirely done away with by the present invention. y

In accordance with the present invention a rotary pencil sharpener mechanism is mounted on the interior of a desk table,

counter or other article of I furniture and the mechanism is provided with an actuating member which projects through one of the walls of the article and with a pencil receiver which may be accessible through the same wall but which is preferably acccssible through another wall'of the article. A. chip receptacle is provided which may conveniently be made in the form of a small drawer slidable in an aperture in the wall ofthe article of furniture below the pencil receiver.

The pencil sharpener mechanism is preferably mounted in the corner formed by a pair of rectangularly disposed walls of the desk or other article of furniture. The mechanism is provided with direction changing gearing so that the actuating member projects through one of these wallsand the pencil receiver which is in alignment with the axis of rotation of the cutters projects through or is accessible through the other wall. interior walls are provided within the desk, either by themselves or in conjunction with the walls of the desk, forming a compartment which is entirely separate from the remainder 'of the desk and the pencil sharpener mechanism is mounted within this compartment so that the cut tings or chips are prevented from finding their way into parts of the desk or other article of furniture from which it is desirable to exclude them.

In the preferred formof the invention the rotary pencil sharpener mechanism is mounted in a corner of the drawer of a desk or other article of furniture with the actuating member or handle of the mechanism projecting through the front wall of the drawer and the pencil receiver is accessible through an aperture in one of its site walls. hen the sharpenermechanism is mounted in'the front left hand corner of the right hand drawer of a desk it can be operated with the highest degree of convenience by a person sitting at the desk.

in another form of the invention in which the mechanism is mounted within a drawer and operable from the outside thereof, the drive shaft of the sharpener mechanism is arranged in operative relation to an aperture in a side wall'of the drawer, and an operating mechanism is rotatably mounted in the stationary side wall ofthe desk. This operating mechanism is constructed so as to be lon itud nally slidable in one direction to engage the operating shaft of the sharpener through a suitable clutch device, and slidable inthe reverse direction to disenthe sharpener mechanism and'recede into the stationary wall of the desk so as to allowthe drawer to be opened.

The invention will be better under toed from an inspection 'of the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example several embodiments of the invention.

In these drawings Fig. 1 is a View partially in plan and partially in section of a corner of a desk or table in which the pencil sharpener mechanism is mounted;

.Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the corner of the desk illustrated in Fig. 1;

8 is a plan view of a portion of a desk or table having the pencil sharpener mechanism mounted. within a drawer with the operating handle accessible from the Fig. is a vertical section taken on line l- L of Fig. 3; v

Fig. 5 is an elevation of aportionof a desk or table with the pencil sharpener mechanism mounted in the drawer and having an operating mechanism mounted injthe outside stationary wall of the desk;

Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section takenon line 66 of Fig.6; and Fig. T f is an enlarged transverse section taken on line 77 of 6, showing the details of the clutch mechanism. 7 Referring-now to the accompanying drawings, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the pencil sharpener mechanism includes a frame 10 having appropriately journalled therein a cutter-carrier shaft 11 and a driving shaft 12. The'cutter-carrier 13 is rigidly secured to and rotates with shaft 11 and is provided with suitable means for journalling the rotary cutters 14c- These are provided at their inner ends with pinions which mesh with the teeth of an internal gear 15 which is held stationary in the frame 10 so that when the shaft 11 is rotated carrying the cutters 1% around with it, the cutters themselves will be caused to rotate abouttheir respective axes. The cuttercarrier 13 terminates beyond the cutters in a cylindrical member having an aperture therethrough fori'ning a pencil receiver 16 through which the pencil is inserted into engagement with the rotating cutters for the sharpening operation.

The frame 10 is secured to the inside of the outer wall 17 of the desk or table by means of screws, as indicated, and is located in such position that the pencil receiver 16 is in alignment with or projects through an aperture 18 in the front wall 19 of the desk. Thus the pencil receiver is accessible from the front of the desk. The driving shaft 12 passes through a thiinble 20, which is frictionally held in an aperture in the side wall 17 and has an operating handle 21 operatively mounted upon its outer end. The rotation of this handle drives the sharpener mechanism through bevelled gearing 22. An escutcheon 23 is attached to the outside of wall 19 so as to protect the surface of the desk from being marred by the accidental contact of pencils therewith.

The pencil'sharpener mechanism above described is mounted in the upper portion of a chamber or compartment formed by the interior walls 24: and 25 which are of an especially tight construction to prevent the leakage of cuttings or chips into other parts of the desk. in order to provide for the removal of tiiese cuttings a chip receptacle 26, which is preferably in the form of a small drawer, is slidable through an aperture in the front wall 19, below the pencil receiver 16, which opens into the compartment ust mentioned. This drawer is provided with a handle 27 by which it may be conveniently inserted and removed and with a spring pressed frictional button 28 which holds it in the closed position.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4., the pencil sharpener mechanism "described above is mounted in a corner of a drawer 29 of a table or desk 30. In Fig. 3 the drawer is shown as being partially open and the top cover of the protective compartment 31, which surrounds the sharpener mechanism, has been shown removed. The actuating member or drive shaft 12 on which the handle 21 is'inounted projects through anaperture in the front of drawer 29and the pencil receiver 16 is accessible through an opening in the lefthand side of the drawer, the end of the pencil receiver preferably extending into the aperture and flush with the outer surface of the drawer.

A chip'receptacle, comprising a small or auxiliary drawer 32, is slidable into the compartment 31 below pencil receiver 16, through an aperture in the left-hand side or the desk drawer. This small drawer is equipped with a lip 33 forming a handle by which it may be slid into and out of position, and also with a spring pressed button by which it is held in closed position flush or below the'surface of the side of the drawer so as not to interfere with the mov ment of this drawer.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the pencil sharpener mechanism is here shown as being mounted in a protective compartinent 35 within a drawer 36 and in such position in the drawer that the pencil receiver 16 is accessible through the front wall 37 of this drawer. In this modification the drive shaft 12 of the sharpener mechanism projects into an opening in the side wall 38 of the drawer andter minates in one member of a clutch mechanism which is shown to best advantage in Fig. 7. This member of the clutch mechanism may conveniently have a conical recess 39. {)n the opposite end of the drive shaft 12 the driving bevel gear 22 is mounted. An aperture 40 extends through a stationary wall ii of the desk in alignment with the axis of drive shaft 12 when the drawer 37 is in closed position. The operating mechanisni for the pencil sharpener is mounted in this aperture.

The operating mechanism in this modification includes a handle 21 mounted on the end of a shaft 12, which is journalled in members 43 and l4: lined in apeitui'e lO. The inner end of shaft 42 has mounted thereon a cone-shaped clutch member 4:5 and by sliding handle 21 and shaft inwardly, this clutch member is brought into engagement with the conical. surface 89 on shaft 12. in this position of the parts the 21. In this position, however, shaft 12 projects into the recess in the'slide wall 38 of the drawer and therefore prevents the opening of the drawer.

By sliding tlieshaft4s2in the opposite direction the clutch members are separated and the conical head 45 'is withdrawn below the inner surface of the stationary wall ll so that the drawer 3'? may be freely operated. 7

It is desirable to bias the position of shaft 42 sons to keep the head45 withdrawirto ill) 7 V pencil sharpener may be actuated by the handle a position where it will not interfere with the operation of drawer 37. For this purpose a spiral spring 46 surrounds shaft 42,

one end coa'cting with the stationary member 43 and the opposite end engaging a pin 47, fixed to shaft 42. Member 43 may conveniently be made as a portion of a cupdesk drawer 37.

By mounting the pencil sharpener mechanism within the interior of the desk or other article of furniture in accordance with the invention, it is always conveniently accessible and can be operated without the annoyance of striking nearby objects while manipulating the handle. Particularly in the preferred form of construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the device may be operated with the greatest convenience, inasmuch as when the drawer. is sli htly opened, as shown in Fig. 3, both the pencil receiver 16 and the operating handle 21 are in the most convenient operating positions for the use of a person sitting at the desk just to the left of the drawer 29. Furthermore, this modification lends itself to installation in desks which are already in use at trifling expense.

I claim:

1. In an article of furniture having a drawer, a pair of rectangularly disposed walls forming a corner of the drawer, a pencil sharpener mechanism mounted in said corner, an actuating member therefor projecting through one of the walls, a pencil receiver disposed at right angles to the actuating member and accessible through the other wall, and a chip receptacle slidable in an aperture in the latter wall below the pencil receiver.

2. In an article of furniture having drawer, a pencil sharpener mechanism mounted on the interior of the drawer and having a pencil receiver accessible through a wall of the drawer, and a chip receptacle slidable in an aperture in said wall below the pencil receiver.

3. In an article of furniture having a drawer, interiorly positioned walls within the drawer forming with two outer rectangularly disposed walls of the drawer an interior, compartment, a pencil sharpener mechanism in the upper portion of said compartment mounted in operative position on the inside of one of the outer walls, an actuating member for the pencil sharpener extending through said wall, a pencil receiver disposed at right angles to said actuating member and accessible through the other of said outer walls, and a chip receptacle in the lower portion of the compartment and removable through the latter outer wall of the drawer.

4. In an article of furniture, a drawer slidable therein, a pencil sharpener mechanism mounted within the drawer, said mechanism having an actuating member extending'through the front wall of the drawer, and a pencil receiver disposed at right angles to said actuating member and below the exterior surface of the side wall of the drawer so as to allow the drawer to be freely slidable to closed position, said pencil receiver being Wholly concealed within the article of furniture when the drawer is closed.

5. In an article of furniture, a drawer slidable therein, a pencil sharpener mechanism mounted within the drawer, said mechanism having an actuating member extending through the front wall of the drawer and a pencil receiver exposed below the exterior surface of the side wall of the drawer so as to allow the drawer to be freely slidable to closed position, and a chip receptacle slidable in an aperture in the side of the drawer beneath the pencil receiver, said pencil receiver and chip receptacle being wholly concealed within the article of furniture when the drawer is closed.

In testlmony whereof I aflix my signature.

DE VERE DIERKS.

Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,595,505, granted August 10, 1926, upon the application of De Vere Dierks, of Kansas City, Missouri, for an improvement in Pencil Sharpeners? an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 31, strike out the paragraph beginning With the article The and ending With the Word them, line 51; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of October, A. D. 1926.

[SEAL] M. J. MOORE,

Acting Uowmnrssioner of Patents. 

